Hopefully all are aware of the club closure due to the VIP TFR today through the 16th. While this keeps us from flying, it also presents an opportunity... During the Warbird event I started to notice some uncommanded control inputs in flight. I self-grounded for safety’s sake and focussed on meeting members/guests as well as admiring the cool warbirds. A day later I discovered that the rudder and elevator servos were moving out of the foam servo pocket with any control input. The original factory applied adhesive had dried out and released the servos! I cast no aspersions at the manufacturer, but instead encourage all of us to take this time to give our machines the once over. Part of what makes full scale aviation so safe is the habitual putting eyes on as many parts and systems as possible to ensure a high level of confidence in their performance. So, I encourage you to inspect, repair, and replace while we’re waiting out the clock. Perhaps keep building, or even purchase that plane you’ve been drooling over…there’s always more room in the hangar! Enjoy the break! Andrew

I recently had a conversation with another member about the opportunity winter weather downtime can provide to give our aircraft a once over. Repeated flights on our favorite birds often build a complacency that “all is well“ because it was well the last time we flew. Winter is a great time to pull things apart and have a good look. Scale aircraft have inspections based on flight time and the calendar which is expensive, but ultimately greatly enhances safety. we should follow that example to a degree to avert the unexpected. Good advise…if I had heeded it. Two weeks ago Connor and I headed to the field with some of our favorite machines. Among them was my once dreaded, but now beloved F-22. After being sidelined for health reasons, I chose to go easy the first flight. My confidence restored, I decided to rip up the sky and pull a few G’s. It was good fun until the landing…. Upon touchdown the nose wheel turned 90 degrees and locked into that position much like the JetBlue A320 back in 2005...see images below. I applied max opposite rudder just trying to counteract the yaw not knowing what had failed. Ultimately, she came to rest offset the centerline (a familiar place for me😂) after leaving some rubber on the runway as testament to the nose gear set screw failure. It stopped so quickly that Connor wondered if this was a secret Navy Carrier based version of the F-22!😂 Unlike the JetBlue Airbus, there were no exciting sparks to light up the GeoTex runway…thank goodness. Needless to say I’ll be taking my own advice and pulling apart a few airplanes before bringing them to the field to ensure all is well to avoid more surprises. I have to admit this one makes for a quick and easy investigation! “HUD lights in sight” Andrew

I received a Flex Innovations Mamba 10 as a birthday gift from my wife Stacey. Thank you Stacey for the new aircraft in spite of the ever decreasing space available to store them. The Mamba is a 10 size electric 3D capable biplane. Its equipped with the Aura 8 Flight Control system which functions to provide gyro stabilization with 3 levels of control authority, act as a blue box for all servo connections, and allows the use of a “remote receiver”. The build was straight forward. Rigid tape for horizontal stabilizer, screws for the wings and 30 minute epoxy for the cabanes. Yesterday‘s conditions were ideal...light winds and partly cloudy skies. The first takeoff was...well...eventful. The plane climbed straight up. It took almost all of the down elevator to lower the nose as I reduced power to find level flight. I struggled to fly a pattern back to the runway with the nonstandard control inputs, but landed uneventfully.🙄😅 Before you congratulate me on my cool head and flying skills, you need to chastise me for overlooking the obvious. I was so focused on a deflected rudder during assembly that I somehow missed the up elevator that caused the first flight excitement. Just goes to show you that statistics don’t lie...the majority of accidents or incidents involve some form of pilot error. I’m a pilot so there’s going to be an error.😂 Stick to the instructions and check it all twice. A few turns on the elevator clevice and all surfaces were true. The second flight was a pleasure. Some aileron trim fixed a left turn tendency, and I began to explore the flight envelope. The roll rates even in sport mode are quick. They are insane in 3D mode and for now it’s anybody’s guess whether I’ll end up right side up at the finish. It seemed slow or underpowered at first but I’ve been flying EDFs a lot so the ride home seems slow.😂 Thumbs up so far on this new bird. Can’t wait to give it another go!